


Seeing Things Through

by Junker



Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Fluff, Kitten fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-28
Updated: 2018-02-28
Packaged: 2019-03-24 23:19:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13821570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Junker/pseuds/Junker
Summary: Zaeed brings a stray kitten to Bailey, and the pair look into the case together about where it might have come from.





	Seeing Things Through

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ThreeWhiskeyLunch](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThreeWhiskeyLunch/gifts).



> This is a treat for ThreeWhiskeyLunch!! Sorry it's not smut!! I was too tempted to just write about kitties.

Bailey frowned as he watched Zaeed Massani in the distance. He hadn’t gotten a ping that Zaeed was on the Citadel, and it likely meant he’d find either a missing persons report or a dead body by the end of the day. Plus, the asshole always managed to smuggle some big weapon onto the Citadel and sell it, so Bailey would have to spend an entire day trying to track it down and confiscate it.

When Bailey was working, Massani was nothing but a headache. After work, well, Zaeed was an intimate companion who relieved some of the tension he caused. Bailey was still trying to decide if the pros outweighed the cons. As Zaeed approached him wearing a worn-in leather jacket and a pair of tight, distressed jeans, Bailey hated himself for leaning towards the pros winning.

He gave Bailey a crooked smile as he approached his counter. “I’ve got the goods, Bailey.”

Bailey’s frown increased. Bailey feared it was only a matter of time before C-Sec suspected him for letting Zaeed slip past security. He obviously didn’t, but what did it look like when Zaeed approached him confidently like this? He said, “What have I said about us talking?”

“After hours only,” Zaeed said, rolling his eyes. “Doesn’t that make it more suspicious? Like we have something to hide?”

Bailey just blinked at him.

“You’re ashamed of me,” Zaeed said, his grin growing.

“Extremely,” Bailey said. “What are the goods? Should I confiscate them?”

Zaeed looked both ways as if there wasn’t a security camera directly above his counter. He unzipped his jacket a ways, and a small kitten head poked out in the gap. The tortoiseshell cat’s yellow eyes watched Bailey for a moment, and then it chirped as it crawled out of Zaeed’s jacket and onto the counter.

Bailey stared at it. It looked a little thin. “Where did you find it?”

“In the rafters,” Zaeed said, suddenly examining his fingernails.

“And what were you doing in the rafters?”

“Just enjoying the solitude until she came along,” Zaeed said. “The Citadel has a shelter or something, right?”

“It does not,” Bailey replied. “I can check if she’s chipped though. Not too many people have the documents to keep pets on the Citadel.”

Zaeed leaned on the counter and held out his hand. The kitten rubbed her forehead against his fingers, and he started to pet her. Bailey found the whole thing painfully cute. He knew Zaeed’s delicate touch all too well, and it was adorable seeing his fingers stroking such a small kitten. He turned back to the computer screen, but he didn’t find any reports of missing animals. He pulled out a scanner, but he couldn’t find a chip on her.

“Did I stumble upon some sort of cat smuggling ring?” Zaeed asked.

“Were there more?”

“No,” Zaeed said. “And she was hiding from me. I was moving a box to, uh, get comfortable and she darted away. I checked the whole area for others, but it was just her. I missed out on my,” Zaeed cleared his throat, “alone time, so if you want to buy me dinner for finding this girl, I’d appreciate it.”

Bailey sighed. At least he didn’t have to deal with a dead body. “You keep calling her girl. Did you check, or are you guessing?”

“Torties are almost always girls,” Zaeed said. “Something about their genes. They’re supposed to be lucky too.”

Bailey just stared at him, and Zaeed shrugged as he started to pet under the kitten’s chin. She swatted at him and marched across Bailey’s desk towards his container of pens. “Where in the rafters did you find her?” Bailey asked. “I’ll send a team to scan for organics.”

“Okay, but is dinner off the table?”

Bailey smirked and shook his head. “It’s not.”

Zaeed gave him the information, and Bailey spent some time on the comms as the kitten proceeded to knock everything it could off of his counter. Zaeed managed to catch a pen before it fell, and he used it to to play with her. While Bailey stayed on the comms longer trying to figure out what to do with the kitten, Garrus came to his counter.

“Heard about it on the comms,” Garrus said. “I’ve only ever seen them in the vids.”

Garrus examined the kitten, not eager to lean over or get too close. Zaeed leaned on the counter and said, “Aren’t you a tall drink of water?”

Garrus’ eyes widened. “What?”

Bailey said, “He’s just flirting with you.”

Garrus didn’t seem any less surprised. Garrus looked at Zaeed. “Why?”

Zaeed grinned and repeated, “You’re a tall drink of water.”

Garrus looked to Bailey for help, but Bailey just shrugged. Garrus asked Zaeed a few questions about the cat, some about where he’d found it, and some just general cat questions. Zaeed tried to convince him to pet the kitten, but Garrus didn’t trust it wasn’t some sort of trick. He excused himself by the time Bailey was off the comms.

“Looks like she’s mine for the time being,” Bailey said.

“Maybe you could make her a C-Sec agent,” Zaeed said. “I’m sure you could find a uniform for her.”

“Based on what she’s done to my desk, she’s likely more suited to your line of work,” Bailey said. “Come on. I’m supposed to clock out early to take care of her. We’ll pick up some things for her, and then we can grab dinner after.”

“I could just meet up you later,” Zaeed said. “Where do you suppose that Turian went off to?”

“Oh no,” Bailey said. “You got me into this mess, Massani. You’re seeing it through.”

Zaeed picked up the kitten and gasped. “She’s not a mess.”

He shoved the kitten back into his jacket, and her head poked back out. Bailey clocked out, and the pair set out. “Do you have a pocket in there she sits in?” Bailey asked.

“Yeah,” Zaeed said. “She pissed on my wallet earlier.”

“So you’re just wearing a piss soaked jacket.”

“Yeah, but I wouldn’t say soaked,” Zaeed said. “Hoping I can borrow your shower after dinner.”

Bailey sighed. “Sure.”

“Maybe I can borrow a jacket too while mine’s at the cleaners.”

“How long are you staying this time?” Bailey asked.

Zaeed shrugged. “It’d be nice to see this kitten thing through.”

“Interested in adopting her?”

“Despite what you may think, my lifestyle is not suited for a kitten.” After a beat, he added, “I don’t know. Just want to make sure more don’t turn up, I guess. It was weird seeing her on the Citadel. Made me think of earth.”

“I know what you mean,” Bailey said. “You don’t see animals around here like you do on earth.”

The pair ventured into one of the few pet stores and picked up supplies for the kitten. Bailey asked the Salarian who ran the shop if he’d heard about or seen the kitten before. The Salarian hadn’t even heard about any pregnant cats, and usually someone would tell him something like that. “Human pet owners love to talk,” the Salarian said. “They’re worse than the Krogan, and they can talk forever about their favourite varren.”

Zaeed asked, “Why’d you take this job?”

The Salarian blinked at him. “You have a kitten in your jacket. You know the exact appeal of those things. I can’t get the documentation to bring one on for me, so I run the store and look at pictures when someone’s willing to share.”

“So you don’t mind the humans talking?” Bailey asked.

The Salarian laughed. “Mind? No. Live for it? Yes.” He bagged the items and hesitated. He said, “There’s an old Krogan that has three or four registered cats. He might know something about the kitten. His name’s Something Traxu.”

“Are you implying that there is an illegal kitten ring?” Zaeed asked.

The Salarian said, “Hardly. I just wanted to be clear that this Krogan waited in line and fought officials to own not only one cat, but at least three. Maybe four. He’s not good at taking pictures. They’re all blurry.” The Salarian hesitated and then added, “Or maybe just real furry. You know this is one of the first cats I’ve seen in person? Can I pet it?”

Zaeed put the kitten on the counter, and it happily accepted the Salarian’s pets. The kitten arched her back into the Salarian’s touch. Bailey said, “Could we get the Krogan’s address? It might be a dead end, but it’ll be worth checking out.”

“Since you’re C-Sec, sure,” the Salarian said, stil petting the kitten. “I mean, you could just take the information without asking.” 

He went to his computer and sent the data to Bailey’s Omni-tool. Zaeed moved the kitten back into his pocket, and the pair carried several bags of cat goods back to Bailey’s apartment. Zaeed said, “Did you just want to see this krogan handling several cats?”

“No, it’s a good lead,” Bailey said, setting up a litter box.

Zaeed said, “Well, I want to see this krogan. Can I shower first?”

“Sure,” Bailey said. “I’ll stay in the C-Sec uniform until we get back.”

“Oh, so you’re not going to join me in the shower?”

“Not right now,” Bailey said.

It was tempting, but he wanted to keep an eye on the kitten. His apartment wasn’t exactly prepared for one. Zaeed started to pull off his clothes in front of Bailey, and Bailey set up the food and water dish for the kitten. Bailey closed his bedroom door as the kitten explored the apartment. Zaeed said, “You know, I can’t decide if I’m offended that you’re more interested in that kitten than me undressing in the middle of your apartment.”

Bailey laughed softly and tilted his head as he looked at Zaeed wearing nothing but a pair of briefs. Zaeed puffed up slightly now that he had Bailey’s attention, and Bailey ran his eyes over Zaeed’s thick, built body and the intermingling of scars and tattoos covering it. Zaeed wrapped his arm around Bailey’s waist and pulled him closer. “Did you miss me?”

Bailey said, “You? Yes. The trouble that comes with you? Not so much.”

Zaeed grinned, and Bailey touched Zaeed’s hips as he watched Zaeed’s eyes. Zaeed said, “You have to admit, my trouble is pretty cute this time.”

Bailey nodded, and Zaeed brushed his nose against Bailey’s. Zaeed liked Bailey to kiss him first, and Bailey was well-aware of his preference, but he liked watching Zaeed tease him and get more frustrated with his delay. Bailey nuzzled him back, and he let his hands trace up Zaeed’s back. Zaeed watched him carefully while sliding a bit closer to Bailey. The room wasn’t exactly warm.

Bailey wanted to ask if Zaeed had thought about visiting without bringing his trouble, but he knew it was too much to ask. Zaeed was busy enough - fighting tooth and nail to make ends meet and avoiding any hits Vido placed on him. He felt a little sorry for Zaeed in that moment, which he knew Zaeed would hate. It wasn’t that Bailey’s life was particularly fulfilling, but he liked his job and he had a family keeping him grounded. Zaeed only had his work.

Something in his face must have changed, because Zaeed brushed off his touch and started to walk away. “Well, if you’re not going to kiss me, I might as well shower.”

Bailey pulled Zaeed back against him before pushing him back against the wall. Bailey kissed him - hard, and Zaeed broke it to laugh. He grabbed Zaeed’s ass to press Zaeed’s groin against him as he tried kissing him again. Zaeed gripped his head to tilt it as he kissed him deeper. He curved his body against Bailey, and Bailey wished he’d been naked so he could feel Zaeed’s chest hair against him.

It was different, kissing him like this. Usually they’d both had dinner and drinks. Usually his head was just a bit foggy and he’d taste his favourite brand of whiskey on Zaeed’s tongue. But he tasted of bubblegum and oddly smelt of fresh air. Every one of Zaeed’s movements was calculated and precise. Bailey loved it, he wanted more, and he was tempted to follow Zaeed into the shower. Zaeed pushed Bailey off of him and said, “I better shower and take care of this boner.”

“Yeah, sure,” Bailey said.

Zaeed winked at him and closed the bathroom door behind him. Bailey poured himself a glass of water to try to cool off and before waving around a cat wand for the kitten to chase around. When the kitten lost interest, he changed into a fresh shirt and tossed Zaeed’s shirt into his laundry pile. After a beat of hesitation, he started a load so Zaeed would have a clean shirt later. The kitten followed Bailey around for a bit before staking out the bathroom door. She shoved her paw under the door and chirped. Bailey heard the water shut off. She puffed up slightly as her paw started to swat more frantically under the door, and Bailey thought Zaeed must be teasing her.

A few minutes later, Zaeed came out in his jeans and picked the kitten up again. Bailey tossed Zaeed a fresh shirt, and Zaeed set the kitten on the couch. “Are we taking her with us?” Zaeed asked.

“Up to you.”

“Let’s leave her,” Zaeed said. “We could eat afterwards.” He snooped through Bailey’s front hall closet and asked, “What jacket can I take?”

“Doesn’t matter,” Bailey said. “Do you want to take your jacket to get dry cleaned too?”

“Yeah.”

Zaeed left his wallet in the kitchen sink to sort through later and threw out whatever was left in his pockets. He tossed on a black jacket with a grey hood – something Bailey usually wore on his way to workout. Bailey thought he’d never like himself in it again after seeing how well it suited Zaeed’s shoulders. Bailey locked up behind him, and they stopped at a drycleaner before they sought out the Krogan’s apartment. It was the end unit of the 7th floor - a pretty expensive place, and Zaeed and Bailey theorized about what the Krogan’s job was.

Zaeed knocked on the door. A massive Krogan opened the door slightly with his foot blocking the entrance. Bailey assumed it was to keep any cats from running out. “Yeah?”

Bailey introduced himself as he showed his C-Sec credentials and left Zaeed without any explanation. The Krogan was Traxu, and he seemed unfazed by their presence. Bailey showed him the photo of the kitten on his omni-tool. “We found this little girl wandering around the citadel. We’ve heard you like cats and thought you might know her owner.”

His green eyes widened. “You found her,” he said. “Yeah, she’s mine. Where is she?”

“Do you have the license for her that we can see?” Bailey asked. “We want to make sure you’re legally allowed to have her on the citadel.”

Traxu’s shoulders went lax and he said, “You’d better come in.”

He opened the door wider and pushed two cats aside with his foot in the process. Zaeed and Bailey stepped in with Zaeed closing the door behind them. The living area was large and open concept, and at the massive floor-to-ceiling windows, there were several intricate cat trees. Bailey realized a black kitten slept soundly behind the Krogan’s head plate and against his hump.

Traxu said, “Thought this lady here was fixed, but turns out she wasn’t and I found myself with a litter of kittens. I have 5 unregistered kittens here, six if you include the one you found.”

“How did she pass the citadel screening process?” Bailey asked. “She should have been fixed.”

Traxu shrugged. “No clue.”

Zaeed gave Bailey a look that implied someone looked the other way. Bailey noticed that one giant tabby and two kittens were rubbing against Zaeed’s legs. Traxu said, “Four’s the limit, so I’ve been trying to track down permits so I can give the others away, but it’s tough deciding who to give them to. Everyone wants to see them, but not too many people are prepared for the real commitment, you know? It’s another life that depends on you.”

“I understand your problem,” Bailey said, “but I can’t just look the other way while you sort this out on your own.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Traxu said. “I understand. I’m just glad you found her.”

While leaning down to pet the cats, Zaeed asked, “What’s her name?”

“Sprinkles,” Traxu said, puffing up a bit in pride. “Her fur looks just like them, doesn’t it? Hey, where is she? Is she in a holding cell at C-Sec?”

“She’s in my apartment,” Bailey said.

“We bought a lot of cat shit,” Zaeed said. “Did you ask that Salarian in the shop if he wants one?”

“I thought about it,” Traxu said, “but he’s been trying to get a permit for years. I’m not sure he’ll be able to get one.”

“Since there are already unclaimed cats on the Citadel, C-Sec should be able to speed up the process,” Bailey said. “A lot of the paperwork is about transporting the cat to the citadel and making sure nothing goes wrong in the process. I’ll call someone and have them work this out.”

The Krogan hesitated. “Oh, so it won’t be you two handling the case.”

“It’s not really my area of expertise,” Bailey said. “We’ll be working with other departments and honestly I don’t even know who to call first.”

Traxu looked at Zaeed. Zaeed just shrugged and said, “I’m just a merc that found the kitten.”

Traxu frowned at Zaeed and turned back to Bailey. He said, “Are you going to keep the kitten, at least? You clearly care about her.”

Bailey rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, it’s certainly something to think about.”

Traxu said, “How about you at least hold onto her in the meantime, and you can decide if you click? She’s a sweet little lady, if a little fast for my old Krogan bones.”

“I can do that,” Bailey said with a nod, still unsure if he wanted a kitten. “I’ll call a C-Sec agent in to get this sorted out.”

“Wait,” Traxu said. He hesitated and continued, “How much trouble am I going to get into?”

“It’s not exactly something we’ve come across before,” Bailey said, “but if you can prove you’ve been trying to solve this problem on your own-”

“-I can,” Traxu said.

Bailey shrugged. “Couldn’t be more than a slap on the wrists.”

“They’re not going to take my cats away, right? Just relocate the kittens.”

“That’s right,” Bailey said.

Traxu exhaled, and he picked up the cats in his arms to keep them away from Zaeed. Bailey connected to C-Sec and arranged for an agent to come out and get this sorted. He watched Zaeed and Traxu talk quietly to each other and wondered what they had to say. Traxu seemed to finally soften to Zaeed. When everything was sorted and an agent was on the way, Bailey, Traxu, and Zaeed exchanged goodbyes. They started to walk out of the apartment complex, and Zaeed said, “Today’s been fun. Never thought I’d see a Krogan with a cat sleeping on him.”

“You got that right.” 

“He’s a chef, by the way,” Zaeed said. “Head chef of one of those fancy seafood places.”

“Wouldn’t have pictured that,” Bailey said. “Where did you want to eat?”

“Let’s get take out so we can hang out more with the kitten,” Zaeed said. “I think you two are going to hit it off.”

Bailey chuckled. “You just want to be able to see her whenever you visit.”

Zaeed shrugged and lightly brushed the back of his hand against Bailey’s. He gave Bailey a crooked smile before he said, “Yeah, well, maybe it’d be another reason to visit more often.”

**Author's Note:**

> (Since the authors are revealed, I'm slapping up my links!)
> 
> • [Twitter](https://twitter.com/JunkerFics) • [Tumblr](https://junkerfics.tumblr.com/) • [Pillowfort](https://www.pillowfort.io/Junker) • 


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